Elizabeth Banks and Michael Rooker in “Slither,” a genre-bending horror film by director James Gunn.

Elizabeth Banks and Michael Rooker in “Slither,” a genre-bending horror film by director James Gunn.

Photo: Photo Credit: Chris Helcermanas-, Chris Helcermanas

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Elizabeth Banks sees her husband, Michael Rooker, slowly transform into a giant slug monster in “Slither.” Writer-director James Gunn would go on to make “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

Elizabeth Banks sees her husband, Michael Rooker, slowly transform into a giant slug monster in “Slither.” Writer-director James Gunn would go on to make “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

Photo: Universal Pictures.

Take me to your laughter: Funny alien invasions

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The “Hunger Games” is history, and “Divergent” is about to release its penultimate chapter, so it is no wonder that the “The 5th Wave” is hitting movie screens this January. Based on book one of Rick Yancey’s young adult series, the film starring Chloe Grace Moretz is yet another fable of dystopia, as she plays one of the last humans on a planet decimated by an alien invasion, a teenager desperate to save her little brother.

Like so many fables of extraterrestrial interference with the human way of life, “The 5th Wave” is a downbeat story. But just because aliens drop in on Earth and start decimating the human population doesn’t mean the movie has to be bleak. While seeing “The 5th Wave” will make some audiences eager for more apocalyptic chills, others will be eager for comic relief. Among the movies that provide that are these, ones that look those little green men (or whatever form they take) in the eye and laugh, because when it’s the end of the world as you know it, what else is there?

“Attack the Block” (2011): John Boyega of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” made his film debut (and came to the attention of director J.J. Abrams) in this darkly comic action thriller — written and directed by Joe Cornish and executive-produced by Edgar Wright — as the leader of a teen gang running wild in their little corner of Brixton whose night takes a turn when carnivorous creatures with big glowing teeth suddenly appear on the block. For these kids, it’s not just a matter of saving their skin; it’s a point of pride not to let interlopers take even an inch of their territory. Rival gang, space invaders — in the end, there’s no difference.

“The World’s End” (2013): In this final film in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, all directed by Edgar Wright, written by Wright and Simon Pegg, and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Pegg stars as a middle-aged perpetual adolescent who talks his old mates — played by Frost, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and Martin Freeman — into returning to their hometown and re-creating a pub crawl they first attempted 20 years ago. The movie begins as a tale of long-estranged buddies coming back together as near strangers, but before it develops into a comedy of midlife crisis or anxiety, it takes a left turn. There is something wrong with these familiar places and the old acquaintances that they meet. Bay Area residents will recognize the telltale signs of gentrification — but no tech invasion caused what Pegg and company discover.

“Slither” (2006): James Gunn, who would go on to make “Guardians of the Galaxy,” wrote and directed this sci-fi thriller that blends laughs with suspense as aliens land in a small South Carolina town and infect local car dealer Grant (Michael Rooker), slowly transforming him into a giant slug monster with the power to infect others. As police chief Bill (Nathan Fillion) and a handful of townsfolk try to get a handle on what’s happening to their community, the alien creature has its own problems. When it became one with Grant, it absorbed the human’s emotions and memories, leaving it pining for Grant’s wife, Starla (Elizabeth Banks) — and facing romantic competition from Bill. Massive slug monster, hot cop — decisions, decisions.

“Killer Klowns From Outer Space” (1988): What was surely the bottom half of a drive-in double bill back in the day, this wacky cult favorite was shot in Watsonville and at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The aliens look harmless enough — if really ugly, even for clowns — as they suddenly appear in a small California town. They even perform for folks, lulling them into trusting them, before moving in for the kill. The only thing standing between the town (and perhaps the world) and total annihilation is an intrepid group of friends, including a cop and two brothers with a very special ice cream truck. As an exercise in comic mayhem, “Killer Klowns” is ridiculous and funny and guaranteed to give coulrophobics nightmares.

“The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai” (1984)/“Earth Girls Are Easy” (1988): A Jeff Goldblum double bill. In the former, a wild satire blending action adventure, sci-fi and romance, Goldblum is a New Jersey neurosurgeon and keyboard player in neurosurgeon/physicist/test pilot/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai’s (Peter Weller) band, the Hong Kong Cavaliers. He’s also one of the good guys in the struggle to save the world from the Red Lectoids from Planet 10. In “Earth Girls,” a genial romantic comedy, Goldblum stars opposite his then-wife, Geena Davis, as a furry, blue and lonely extraterrestrial who crash-lands along with two equally hirsute companions — played by Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans — into manicurist Davis’ pool and into her heart.